[Vigilanteman]

You are correct. I've driven that stretch of I-81 many times. We joked that 81 is the speed limit AND the highway number sign. Nobody drives 70 unless the Virginia state police are out in force or a bunch of trucks going slower than the normal traffic flow in both lanes.

There is a huge Wal-Mart distribution center right by an interchange between Harrisonburg and Stanton with its own railyard.

There was talk that some of the truck traffic would diminish once the raillink was completed. I haven't noticed it happening. Have you?

[Notary Sojac]

There was talk that some of the truck traffic would diminish once the raillink was completed.

If we could get the greenies interested, not in building Walt Disney trains to nowhere, but in moving more freight traffic off the highways and onto the freight railroads, I think it would be well worth the effort.

[Jeff Chandler]

There was talk that some of the truck traffic would diminish once the raillink was completed. I haven't noticed it happening. Have you?

Walmart replaces a lot of product as it is used, so a large portion of the deliveries to their distribution centers is LTL.

[Moose4]

Nope. I-81 is carrying more truck traffic than it was ever designed to handle, and it’s a constant issue. It’s actually worse the further south you go, once you get into the hillier stretches around and south of Roanoke. Most of the highway could stand to go to six lanes but that would be such a massive project, I seriously doubt VDOT would ever be able to get the money to do it (at least, and have it done in our lifetimes).

One big issue for truckers on I-81 is the lack of rest areas. VDOT closed down a lot of the rest stops, especially south of I-64. I think there’s one stretch, can’t remember if it’s northbound or southbound, where there’s over 110 miles between rest areas. There’s places at exits to pull over and take a leak or stretch your legs, of course, but I imagine it’s a bit more of a pain for a long-haul trucker, and more convenient to have those rest areas right along the highway.

I’ve never understood why a state like Virginia, which has such huge tourism numbers and gets millions of visitors each year via the Interstates, has such godawful rest areas. Every other state I’ve ever visited does them better than my beloved Commonwealth does. It’s insane.

}:-)4

[B4Ranch]

>>There is a huge Wal-Mart distribution center right by an interchange between Harrisonburg and Stanton with its own railyard.

There was talk that some of the truck traffic would diminish once the raillink was completed. I haven’t noticed it happening. Have you? <<

Remember that if you’ve got a truck brought it. When train traffic increases so does truck traffic. When the economy slows down there’s less trucks on the highway and vice versa. WalMarts, Safeway, Foodstuff, Sears, McDonalds or your local gas station doesn’t get stocked by air freighters.